Couldn't My Reincarnation have been more Cliche!

Chapter 20 (Ballroom Blitz)

With that, he gave his wrist one more snap, seemingly satisfied that he had his full range of motion back, he waved his hand, giving the signal for the other two men to reluctantly step to either side of me.

Not waiting for them to finish their encirclement, I kicked the heels off my feet towards the leader's head. They didn't have enough force to do any real damage, but in the time it took the man to recover his wit, my fist filled in the gap, striking his chest. I considered letting the tentacles carefully concealed around my body out. Ultimately, I didn't want to reveal my trump card so soon. The man fell backward, but before I could land another hit, I saw a punch closing in from the larger man beside me. I leaned back just in time to avoid the first strike; however, I failed to notice the short man slip behind me, launching an attack from my blind spot. Having already dodged the first attack, I couldn't halt my dive backward, so instead, I kicked the ground sending me into the path of the strike even faster. In an instant, I felt a force impact me above my left rib cage, but my flight didn't stop there; thanks to my extra force, I continued into the source of the punch, tumbling into the small man. Landing on top of him, I could see every aspect of his features, from his slightly oilly skin to The clear signs of exertion surrounded me. I could feel his muscles twitch in an effort to throw me off. I was about to launch one of my fists toward the man's torso when I heard a blizzard-like whooshing of air behind me. The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. Hitting the ground, I rolled to a stop to see the leader of the group standing a few feet away from where the short man was struggling to his feet, a white vapor coming out of his hands.

I picked myself out of the display I had crashed into while checking my wounds and considered my next move. Alone, I didn't think any of them were even as strong as the basic ants I had fought in the rift. Besides the last hit, the blows they had managed to land either did little to nothing or could be healed with my lesser recovery skill. The issue was that I also didn't have a significant advantage. They just worked too well together; anytime I had an opening, the others were able to make up for the shortcomings. I felt a shiver go down my spine as I wondered what if the ants had the same level of cooperation. If I had my sword, then maybe I could change this situation around, but right now, I think it might be best to try and give Mariam more time to flee, then get out of here.

Just as I was finishing my plan, the large man named Mitch raised his hand to his ear, his face paling. He tried to whisper in the leader's ear; unfortunately for them, I was close enough that any lapse in concentration could prove costly. Something the man knew well.

[Garrett (the punk leader)] "Just say it, damn it!"

Clapping his hands together, he sent another shock wave in my direction. This time I managed to move to the side, finally figuring out how his attack worked. I wanted to take the opportunity when the man started to speak to at least gain some ground.

[Mitch (the tall lackey)] "Hey, boss, got a problem here. Looks like the rift we were tracking earlier suddenly changed to a power scale two and is wildly changing direction."

Hearing the word rift mentioned again, I backed off. Right now, that term likely involved all of our fates, not just theirs.

[Mitch (the tall lackey)] "Just got an emergency association notice. They want all available wardens to help evacuate..."

The man spoke slowly; however, he realized I had backed away, and he spoke normally after listening for a second.

[Mitch (the tall lackey)] "That's not the bad news, apparently it's opening right on top of..."

Silence descended on the room as the realization of the man's words dawned on us. The short man spoke first.

[Short lackey] "Hey boss, we should get out of here before the backup team arrives. If we move now, we'll probably be able to get out of the rift's range."